Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[stick with] {v. phr.} To unfairly thrust upon; encumber one with. •/ In the restaurant my friends stuck me with the bill although it was supposed to be Dutch treat. /

[sticky fingers] {n. phr.} , {slang} 1. The habit of stealing things you see and want. •/ Don’t leave money in your locker; some of the boys have sticky fingers. / •/ Don’t leave that girl alone in the room with so many valuable objects around, because she has sticky fingers. / 2. Ability to catch a ball, especially football forward passes. •/ Jack is very tall and has sticky fingers. He is an end on the football team. /

[stiff]See: KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP, SCARE OUT OF ONE’S WITS or SCARE STIFF.

[still]See: HEART STAND STILL.

[still life] {n. phr.} A term used by artists to describe a motionless picture of a bowl of fruit, flowers, etc. •/ One of van Gogh’s most famous still lifes is a vase of yellow flowers. /

[still waters run deep]Quiet people probably are profound thinkers. — A proverb. •/ He doesn’t say much, but he sure looks smart. Well, still waters run deep, isn’t that true? /

[stir up] {v.} 1. To bring (something) into being, often by great exertion or activity; cause. •/ It was a quiet afternoon, and John tried to stir up some excitement. / •/ Bob stirred up a fight between Tom and Bill. / Compare: WHIP UP(2). 2. To cause (someone) to act; incite to action or movement; rouse. •/ The coach’s pep talk stirred up the team to win. / •/ When Mary heard what Betty said about her, she became stirred up. /

[stir up a hornet’s nest] {v. phr.} To make many people angry; do something that many people don’t like. •/ The principal stirred up a hornet’s nest by changing the rules at school. /

[stitch]See: IN STITCHES.

[stock]See: IN STOCK, OUT OF STOCK, TAKE STOCK, TAKE STOCK IN.

[stock-in-trade] {n. phr.} The materials which one customarily deals, sells, or offers. •/ Imported silk blouses from the Orient are the stock-in-trade of their small shop. / •/ Anecdotes are often an after-dinner speaker’s stock-in-trade. /

[stomach]See: EYES BIGGER THAN ONE’S STOMACH, BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR STOMACH, TURN ONE’S STOMACH.

[stone]See: CAST THE FIRST STONE, HAVE A HEART OF STONE, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES, ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS.

[stone-blind] {adj. phr.} 1. Completely blind. •/ Poor Al is stone-blind and needs help to get across the street carefully. / 2. Highly intoxicated. •/ George drank too much and got stone-blind at the office party. / See: GET STONED, THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND.

[stone-broke]or [dead broke]or [flat broke] {adj.} , {informal} Having no money; penniless. •/ Jill wanted to go to the movies but she was stone-broke. / •/ The man gambled and was soon flat broke. /

[stone-cold] {adj.} Having no warmth; completely cold. — Used to describe things that are better when warm. •/ The boys who got up late found their breakfast stone-cold. / •/ The furnace went off and the radiators were stone-cold. /

[stone-dead] {adj.} , {informal} Showing no signs of life; completely dead. •/ Barry tried to revive the frozen robin but it was stone-dead. /

[stone-deaf] {adj. phr.} Completely deaf. •/ Sam is stone-deaf so let him read your lips if you know no sign language. /

[stone wall]or [brick wall] {adj.} Something hard to overcome; an idea or belief that is hard to change. •/ The students ran into a brick wall when they asked the principal to put off the examination. / •/ Dick tried to change Father’s mind about letting him use the car Saturday night, but he was up against a stone wall. /

[stone’s throw]or [within a stone’s throw] {adv. phr.} Within a very short distance. •/ They live across the street from us, just within a stone’s throw. / See: HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP.

[stool pigeon] {n.} A criminal who informs on his associates. •/ The detective was able to solve the crime mainly through information obtained from a stool pigeon. /

[stop]See: PUT AN END TO(1), or PUT A STOP TO.

[stop at nothing] {v. phr.} To be unscrupulous. •/ Al will stop at nothing to get Nancy to go out with him. /

[stop by]See: DROP BY.

[stop cold]or [stop dead]or [stop in one’s tracks] {v. phr.} , {informal} To stop very quickly or with great force. •/ The hunter pulled the trigger and stopped the deer cold. / •/ When I saw Mary on the street, I was so surprised I stopped dead. / •/ The deer heard a noise and he stopped in his tracks. /

[stop off] {v.} To stop at a place for a short time while going somewhere. •/ We stopped off after school at the soda fountain before going home. / •/ On our trip to California we stopped off in Las Vegas for two days. /

[stop over] {v.} To stay at a place overnight or for some other short time while on a trip elsewhere. •/ When we came back from California, we stopped over one night near the Grand Canyon. /

[stop short] {v. phr.} To suddenly stop. •/ Jake stopped short when he heard somebody yell out his name loud but there was no one in sight. /

[stop street] {n.} A street where cars must come to a full stop before crossing another street. •/ Johnny was late because he traveled on a stop street. / Contrast: THROUGH STREET.

[stop the show] {v. phr.} To elicit such a strong applause from the audience that the show is interrupted. •/ Pavarotti’s rendition of "O sole mio" always stops the show. /

[stop up] {v. phr.} To block; close. •/ If you want to get rid of the leak, you must stop up the two holes you have in the ceiling. /

[store]See: DIME STORE, IN STORE, SET STORE BY, VARIETY STORE.

[storm]See: TAKE BY STORM.

[story]See: OLD STORY, SOB STORY, UPPER STORY.

[stow away] {v.} 1. {informal} To pack or store away. •/ After New Year’s Day the Christmas decorations were stowed away until another season. / 2. To hide on a ship or another kind of transportation to get a free ride. •/ John ran away from home and stowed away on a freighter going to Jamaica. /

[straight]See: GO STRAIGHT, SHOOT STRAIGHT.

[straighten out] {v.} To correct a mistake; make you realize you are wrong. •/ The teacher saw Jim’s awkward sentence on the board and asked for volunteers to straighten it out. / •/ Sometimes only a good spanking will straighten out a naughty child. / Syn.: SQUARE AWAY(2).

[straighten up] {v.} To put in order; make neat. •/ Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming. / •/ Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came. / Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY.

[straight face] {n.} A face that is not laughing or smiling. •/ Mary told all the funny stories she knew to try to make Joan laugh, but Joan kept a straight face. / •/ It is hard to tell when Jim is teasing you. He can tell a fib with a straight face. / •/ When Bob fell into the water, he looked funny and I could hardly keep a straight face. /

[straight from the horse’s mouth] {slang} Directly from the person or place where it began; from a reliable source or a person that cannot be doubted. •/ They are going to be married. I got the news straight from the horse’s mouth — their minister. / •/ John found out about the painting straight from the horse’s mouth, from the painter himself. /

[straight from the shoulder] {adv. phr.} , {informal} In an open and honest way of speaking; without holding back anything because of fear or politeness or respect for someone’s feelings; frankly. •/ John asked what he had done wrong. Bob told him straight from the shoulder. / •/ The candidate for Congress spoke out against his opponent’s dishonesty straight from the shoulder. / Contrast: PULL ONE’S PUNCHES.

[straightlaced] {adj.} Of very strict morals and manners. •/ She is so straightlaced that she won’t even go out with a man unless she senses that he is serious about her. /

[straight off] {adv. phr.} At once; immediately. •/ After school is over, you come home straight off, and don’t waste time. / •/ He asked his father for the car, but his father said straight off that he couldn’t have it. /

[straight out]See: RIGHT OUT.

[straight shooters]See: SHOOT STRAIGHT.

[straight ticket] {n.} A vote for all the candidates of a single party. •/ Uncle Fred was a loyal member of his party. He always voted the straight ticket. / Contrast: SPLIT TICKET.

[strain a point]See: STRETCH A POINT.

[strange to say] {adv. phr.} Not what you might think; surprisingly. — Used for emphasis. •/ Strange to say, Jerry doesn’t like candy. / •/ Strange to say, the Indians didn’t kill Daniel Boone. /

[strapped for] {adj.} Broke; out of funds. •/ My brother is so extravagant that he is always strapped for cash. /

[straw]See: GIVE A HANG, GRASP AT A STRAW, GRASP AT STRAWS, LAST STRAW or STRAW THAT BREAKS THE CAMEL’S BACK, MAKE BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW.

[straw boss] {n.} 1. The boss of a few workers who is himself under another boss or foreman. •/ The straw boss told Jim he would have to see the foreman about a job. / 2, A man who works himself and also bosses a few other workers. •/ Smith worked better than the other men, so the foreman made him straw boss, too. /

[straw in the wind] {n. phr.} A small sign of what may happen. •/ The doctor’s worried face was a straw in the wind. / •/ The quickly-called meeting of the President and his cabinet was a straw in the wind. /

[straw poll] {n. phr.} An informal survey taken in order to get an opinion. •/ The results of our straw poll show that most faculty members prefer to teach between 9 and 11 A.M. /

[straw that breaks the camel’s back]See: LAST STRAW.

[straw vote]See: STRAW POLL.

[streak]See: WINNING STREAK.